The Track
by LadyTigerFuyuko
Summary: One-shot. Post Jak 3, friendly with all games. A taste of the Haven races. Minor Jakiera and Daxtess. Read, Review, and Have Fun!


One-shot, post Jak 3, based on racing zoomers, with a helping of JaKiera and Ottsel (DaxTess). I 'll openly admit that the inspiration for this fic came from a scene in the movie Robots (which I don't own), because the SFX in it made me think of racing and the tracks in Jak II. Funny how my mind works.

Disclaimer: I don't own Jak . Or his videogame cohorts. Naughty Dog does. (For now.) Nor do I own anything else I may insert.

The Track

"Don't worry, Dax. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's race." Jak could clearly recall the time that he'd said that to his partner and friend-his furry shoulder ornament. It was just after they'd really been allowed out to see Spargus, having decided to take Kleiver and his vehicles would be great toys.

But that was then, and this was a different, yet familiar vehicle.

"Tell me again why I'm still on your shoulder, Jak." Daxter's quip made the blonde elf slide his eyes away from their focus, but only for a second. He couldn't miss the damn starting light.

"Because you want Tess to admire you and your 'mad racing skillz'." Daxter made an odd noise in the back of his throat as the second light came on. Jak smirked to himself, as his pal's claws dug into the guard, while he tried to look nonchalant.

"Oh…right…yeah."

Engines revved from in front of Jak. He twisted the bar, on his zoomer-"Blaster'em"-in response, loving the roar of the engine, the thrum between his calves. Okay, so Kiera called it "Test Mod 4", but that was too technical for him. And he wasn't going all out for Dax's suggestion of "Li'l Orange Lightning". So when she'd asked him if he wanted a decal on the side, Jak had requested Kiera put on "Blaster'em", and frankly, he liked the look she'd given it. It served the dual meaning behind the name perfectly, the letters struck through by a yellow blaster shot, straight from a morph gun, pointed backwards so it looked like a zoomer leaving behind a trail.

Jak continued to stare at the signal lights. The third light lit up. A buzzer sounded. He barely heard it over the roar of his speeding zoomer.

Kiera jumped up from her seat as one with the rest of the cheering, screaming, mob of race fans as the drivers sped away from the start line. Tess strained her eyes to see the action on the track, looking to see where the boys were in the grappling pack-or if they were in it at all. Suddenly, she called down to the young woman on whose shoulder she was perched.

"I see them, Kiera! They're already in second place! Right behind the first guy! I think he's just ahead because they were last in the line-up!"

"Great! They won't be in second long, then, I'm pretty sure that mod can catch any of the competition." She hoped so anyway. Kiera knew she'd take forever to get over it if one of her inventions was to blame for Jak's losing anything, even just a preliminary zoomer race.

"Come on, let's not stand here all day, Kiera! The view's no good, I can't see my Daxxie-poo!" Kiera smiled, Tess had a point, she wasn't tall enough for either of them to see over the heads of other fans. Besides, she needed to get to the pit anyways.

"Yeah. Let's go down to the pit, just in case the boys need a tune-up. Then we can watch the vid-screen." She never got tired of zoomer races, but seeing Jak race and supporting him put a new thrill into the sport.

Jak grinned recklessly as he heard Daxter's yelp and muffled curses, as they narrowly missed sideswiping a guardrail and going out in flames. That was his favorite part of zoomer racing, the ability to drive dangerously and not have to hear anything about endangering lives of pedestrians. Daxter's whines were never too serious, he was pretty sure Jak wouldn't kill them and ruin the chance to add another trophy to the cabinet in Kiera's garage.

'Stupid people always get in my way when I'm in the city. I love the freedom of the track.' Speaking of which, another stupid person was trying to edge up on Jak's right flank-the grin grew-but they fell back and out of sight as Jak revved the engine a bit more, throwing the zoomer into a faster pace.

"Pack of morons! Like to see 'em catch us now! Not on this baby, right Jak? Man, Kiera sure knows to make a sweet ride. Not to mention she's a babe instead of a greasemonkey." Jak hugged the next turn tightly, blinking swiftly as his goggles switched into night-vision mode, when "Blaster'em" blasted into the tunnel just after it.

"Hell yeah. She makes the best damn zoomers in this lousy city. Nobody can top my girl in mechanics."

She was his girl too, he couldn't think of anyone who'd stood by him more than she had through the thin times, except for the ottsel hunkered down on his shoulder. Though they weren't really dating yet, Jak had a guilty feeling it had more to do with his lacking the nerve to ask her straight to be steady with him than anything else. Besides, he'd too often felt like his trials weren't over yet, and he'd hate more than anything to have to leave her like that, to disappoint her or break her hopes.

"AAAAAHHH! JAAAKK! TURN LEFT! TURN LEFT!" Jak winced as Dax's scream rang in his sensitive ears, and grimaced as he heard the too-late turn result in the corner cutting into the tail of the zoomer. The smell of smoke assaulted his nose, as he made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.

"Check our stats, Dax. How far ahead are we of the pack?"

"Far enough to pull into see my hot Tessie for a few quick love-pets." Dax pulled himself back to Jak's shoulder after sliding half-way down to check the Q-Aid screen which the officials had attached before the start of the race-an early addition to pro zoomer races, which allowed the racers to see where they were in rank and time, which had always been a major factor in deciding if there was time for a pit-stop.

Pro races were more than the three to seven laps the regular Haven races were, since they were the premier tournament, and allowed for one pit-stop per race. There were 5 races in each circuit, with one preliminary each, and 2 circuits in each tournament-the Mar circuit and the Precursor circuit. Mar himself found it odd to have a circuit with his real name on it, but in Dax's words, it was 'all good' because Jak would win it anyway. Anyone with good racing credentials could sign up for the Mar circuit's preliminary, but to get on the line-up for the Precursor, a racer need to be in the top six in the Mar circuit and pass the preliminary for the Precursor itself, which could go as low as four racers.

"Hn. Let's go visit the girls." Jak sped up as he came into a straight away, veering slowly left to line-up with the entrance to the pit. He hoped he didn't lose ground to any second-rate racer. He hated that.

Kiera winced as she saw Jak clip the curve with the tail of the zoomer. It began to smoke and spark a bit, and she had a feeling he'd pull in for a pit.

"Tess, get me my toolbox, please, I'm gonna need it soon."

"Sure thing, girl! How're our boys doing? They better be doing good, or I'm gonna have to blow away some of the competition! I have the perfect new gun mod to try out, it fires a missile packed with yellow eco, has a built in heat-seeking tracker chip, and is so aerodynamic it can reach speeds that'd blow the fangs off a Metalhead in…"

"Uh…That's great, Tess, but I really need that toolbox." Kiera was still a bit creeped out by how excited the young ottsel woman got when she talked about guns and explosives. That was probably why she'd worked in the Underground during the Baron's days. Not that she could really say anything, since she got that way about her gadgets, especially zoomers.

The thrum of an approaching zoomer increased in the girls' ears, and they stood to the left of the lane so Jak could easily land the zoomer and take off swiftly. Kiera waited for Jak to set the zoomer directly over the elevated workbench before she pushed the button that raised it and the zoomer to a working level. Jak ripped off his goggles, and she could see the frustration in his dark blue orbs.

"Anything I can do to help?" Jak grit out, really wanting to say, 'Is there any way we can make this lightspeed?', but not feeling like getting his mechanic angry at him.

"Sure, set-up the blowtorch and hand it to me. I need to weld this section closed again, or it'll hinder the aerodynamics of the vehicle." He did as he was asked, trying not to think about what she'd said, since all he knew was that 'aerodynamics' made a zoomer fast or slow. He also tried to zone out the mush that Dax and Tess were spewing to each other. It was nice that they liked each other so much and all, but he'd find it even nicer if they'd tone down the PDA every once in a while. Nobody wanted to see ottsels being kissy with each other.

Kiera bent over the tail section of the zoomer, not very surprised to see that the damage had been confined to the left portion of the tail. No matter how reckless he was with his driving, Kiera knew that a beat up or run-down zoomer was one of those things Jak really hated, mostly because he like flashy, well-oiled rides, but also because he didn't want to abuse her services. She finished putting in the last screw into a plate that was going to help the welding hold the two sections together, at least until after the race was over. She'd fix it for real after that, but right now, there wasn't time for a full repair.

Jak was staring off into space when Kiera wordlessly held out her hand. He blinked, a bit startled by her speed, then passed the blowtorch into her capable mechanic's hands. He watched as she welded around the plate, pulling the fracture closed. It never ceased to amaze him how efficient she could be, even when forced to work with limitations. He tried to smile at her a bit as he pulled back on his goggles, and hopped astride "Blaster'em".

"Thanks. Come on Dax, let's get back out there."

"Right behind ya, Jak. Adieu, my sweet Tess-darling."

"Good luck guys! Bring in another trophy, Jak!"

"Yeah, Daxxie-poo, another trophy means another victory kiss! Go show those turtles whose boss, baby!" The roar of the engine drowned out any other parting words, and the girls stepped back so Jak could safely pull out of the pit area. Soon, the speeding vehicle was nothing more than a speck on the horizon.

Jak smirked as he pulled past a zoomer with neon green lightning strikes going to it's tail, highlighted by navy blue finish. 'Nice ride.' He thought, 'Too bad it doesn't race well.' The second-rate driver made a rude gesture with his hand, unbalanced himself, and nearly rammed his ride into a steel pole. Daxter snickered, and blew a raspberry at the guy, pulling down on his left eye.

"Nyah, you looking for a hug from mommy? She looks kinda stiff to me. That's right, can't touch this! Foo!"

(A/N: Sorry for the intrusion, but I'd be tickled pink if someone called that reference in a review:P I dare you to try.)

Jak rolled his eyes. Haven's TV shows, especially cartoons, were definitely bad for Daxter, though he supposed it could be worse. '… Ew. I think I just mentally scarred myself.'

The "Blaster'em" pulled out of a tight, nearly ninety degree turn to the right, heading to the finish line. Shooting down the straightaway, Jak could see where the track began an 'S' curve section, where he knew it veered to the left immediately after. He also knew, from noticing it last lap, that there was a small dark tunnel that would give him a more direct route to the finish line. 'And the quickest path is always the straightest path.' He'd try it on this lap, perfect his method for the final lap.

"Hold on, Dax. It's gonna be a rough ride."

"GREAT. I'll just go get my barfbag and we'll be just peachy, big guy." The ottsel hunkered down on Jak's shoulder, pulling his goggles tighter around his face. His claws dug into the shoulder guard when they slid into the second part of the 'S' curve, mumbling something about crazed drivers, and risking his life with a madman. Jak, for the most part, ignored the commentary. He needed to concentrate on perfecting the tunnel technique.

"Yaaaagggh! Let me know next time you take a dark, way-too-narrow-for-us tunnel Jak!"

Scratch that. All he needed to do now was finish the race. Final lap, no competition, thoroughly terrified ottsel. Photo finish, coming up.

Kiera almost squealed when she saw the "Blaster'em" slam through the banner at the finish line. Almost. Then Tess did it for her, jumping up and down on her shoulder like a rabid animal, screaming Dax's name, complete with sugar-coated versions. The loudspeaker boomed in their sensitive ears as the two girls ran from the pit area to the finish line where Jak and Daxter were already hopping off the zoomer.

"…A once in a lifetime run today folks, rookie winner beating all racers by more than 1'50"! Definitely something to…"

The rookie winner and his ottsel stood by the "Blaster'em", smirking just enough to rub it in that they won, hands-or paws-down.

"It's nice to make history in a non-life threatening way, isn't it Jak? I think Orange Lightning is going to retire from the hero business, sidekick. The track is his new kingdom of conquering." Jak watched as Daxter polished his nails on his chest, then examined them slowly, giving the air of careless, self -satisfaction. Tess tackled him from behind, and the two ottsels rolled chaotically around, giggling silly love phrases.

"Hmph. Somehow, I think he'd miss the limelight excitement too much. Great finish Jak, I think you might have set a record." Kiera put her hands on her hips as she stood next to him, briefly brushing his shoulder for sincerity. Jak gave her a wry grin, and a shrug in return, simple modesty.

"It was nothing really. I was just doing what I do best. Racing."

The End

Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I have a terrible time characterizing Daxter; he's too funny for me. And I think it came off as a little more romantic than I'd originally intended. Anyways, leave me a review, or die the death of a thousand Twizzlers.


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